With internet usage expanding exponentially and demand for high-speed connections ever growing, cable internet companies may soon be facing serious bandwidth issues, according to a report by ABI Research. The problem comes from more demanding applications, including high-definition video, video on demand, online gaming, and higher-bandwidth Internet applications, which could lead to fewer high-definition television channels and sputtering internet speeds. "
The increasing bandwidth demands on cable operators will soon reach crisis stage, yet this is a 'dirty little industry secret' that no one talks about," said Stan Schatt, VP and research director for ABI Research.
Currently, cable providers utilize roughly 750MHz worth of bandwidth: ~676MHz for downstream applications like analog cable, digital cable, HD programming, video on demand, Internet data, and VoIP service and 54MHz for upstream transmissions; according to ABI, however, 750MHz just isn't enough to deal with future growth. "
Uploading bandwidth is going to have to increase," Schatt stated. "
And the cable providers are going to get killed on bandwidth as HD programming becomes more commonplace."
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